This invention relates to building construction, and more particularly, to a building structure of intersecting hollow tubular structural members, a method of constructing the same, and a wall member and end connector utilized therein.
As a result of the population explosion and the increasingly high cost of housing, there currently exists a housing shortage of increasing proportions. In the recent past, attempts have been made to provide, standardized and/or prefabricated building components and housing modules in order to provide cheaper, more easily constructed housing. While many forms of structures have been provided, the assembly of components and erection of the structure have required considerable skill, particularly for those structures intended for or most suited to mass production and widespread utilization. Moreover, most prefabricated building components have taken the form of semi-finished walls, or room or unit modules fabricated in a manufacturing plant and later transported to a building site. Such approaches involve significant transportation problems and associated costs.
It is known to construct building structures of interfitted wall members, particularly logs or timber. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,304,674; 2,473,017; 2,473,018; and 3,304,674. The log wall members, however, are generally of substantial weight, while both the log and timber type wall members have required either sophisticated milling and machining operations or extensive manual labor and skill in cutting and shaping the components. Production of such wall members is relatively costly nd generally not compatible with on-site fabrication, except for the more unsophisticated, rough log wall members. Erection of such structures has involved considerable time, manpower and materials. Additionally, substantial expense is involved in transporting such materials to the construction site; moreover, log or timber wall members, by their nature, displace a substantial volume, requiring a significant transport capability in moving the components to the building site.